Next
by FallToYourKnees
Summary: The proposal was unexpected. And so was what happened next. Beckett learns that it's not so easy to run from your demons, especially when they come in the form of a dragon. Spoilers for the end of Watershed.
1. Chapter 1

"Katherine Houghton Beckett, will you marry me?"

It was so unexpected. She had anticipated his anger, could understand why he felt betrayed by what she had done. As they had talked she had been sure that he was breaking it off, the bitter part inside of her saying that this was always going to happen, her eyes starting to fill with tears as he stood up to leave. Suddenly he is kneeling before her, expression serious but eyes full of nervous hope, and the rush of relief that spreads through her is so unexpected that it takes her breath away.

What happens next though, is something that she definitely did not see coming.

The shot rings out across the playground, harsh and clear in the still winter-like air. It feels like she's been hit by a truck and for a split second all Kate can think is that a proposal shouldn't feel like this, and then she is falling and hitting the ground with a jolt that sends white-hot pain shooting through her chest. It's only when Castle brings his hands to her shoulder and she sees the blood running through his fingers that she realises she has been shot.

"Kate, oh god, oh Kate stay with me stay with me Kate…"

All she can do is stare at his face, the panic and horror showing there making her realise that this is serious; she wants to tell him that everything is fine, it feels different to last time, she can't even feel any pain right now, just a tight numbness that is slowly moving across her body. Sirens howl in the distance, Castle is yelling at her now but she can't hear him. She hasn't felt this tired in a long time, and it would be so easy to just fall asleep here.

"Kate please, just keep your eyes open! I love you, always, please…"

She can feel the last of her energy disappearing, and manages to open her eyes long enough to whisper his name before she falls into the blackness that hovers at the edge of her vision.

* * *

He bought the ring only an hour before their meeting at the swings, after a morning spent wandering moodily through the streets of New York; finding himself outside a small jewellery store had felt like fate, and he had made up his mind in a split second. Seeing her walk towards him in the playground, Castle knew that it was the right choice. He was completely hers, and he wanted to show her that she could be his too, for the rest of their lives.

The sound of the shot made him jump and look behind, then turn again as he heard Kate cry out as she fell to the ground, a sick feeling settling in his stomach as he struggled to comprehend the blood spreading across her black jacket. Then seeing her eyes start to close, hearing the confusion in her voice as she said his name, her body relaxing as she loses consciousness. It's only five minutes until the paramedics arrive but it feels like a lifetime to Castle, his tears blurring the image of the woman he loves bleeding to death before him. They have to pry his hands away from the wound in her shoulder, all he can think is that they have to keep the pressure on, but someone is gently pulling him away and he is crying harder than he ever has before.

He goes to the hospital in a squad car, the police officers in the car silent and grim at the thought of one of their own being taken down. It is chaos when they arrive and it takes some time before he finds out that she's been taken to surgery. The news that she is still breathing is the best thing he has ever heard; he was sure that Kate Beckett had died beside him in that park.

The next two hours pass in a blur, as Ryan and Esposito arrive, their faces tense and frightened; Castle imagines that his own expression mirrors theirs. Lanie appears, hugging him for a long time. It helps more than he lets on. Finally Jim Beckett walks through the waiting room doors, his face weary and his eyes red. They sit together in nervous silence, hoping that their friend, girlfriend, daughter can pull through this time.

When the doctor appears and makes a beeline for their group they all get to their feet, staring at him desperately. The man clears his throat and Castle knows what he is going to say before he even speaks.

"I'm very sorry to inform you that Detective Beckett didn't make it through the surgery."

* * *

The first thought that crosses her mind when she comes to is that Castle must have left the light on last night; it's so bright in the bedroom that all she can see is a disorientating blur. As her vision clears, she realises that she is not in bed with Castle but in a small bed with white sheets, and the beeping sound that she mistook for her alarm is actually a heart rate monitor. Confusion sets in as she squeezes her eyes shut tightly to try and rid herself of the dizziness still present in her mind. She opens them again as she hears the door opening, her confusion growing when she sees Jordan Shaw standing in the doorway.

"Kate," Jordan says softly as she approaches the bed, her expression serious and her eyes compassionate, "there's something I need to tell you."

Kate swallows, noticing for the first time the bandages on her shoulder, the twinges of pain through her chest. Memories flash through her mind – the park, the swings, Castle. The proposal… oh god, the shot, and the knowledge that she was dying right there in the dirt.

"What? Is – is Castle okay?" Kate manages to ask, her voice hoarse.

"He's fine." Jordan assures her and pauses as if trying to work out what to say next. "But we had to make sure that whoever shot you thought that they had finished the job Kate, and that meant everyone else had to believe it too."

Kate tries to take this in, an uneasy feeling rising in her stomach as she processes Shaw's words. "Kate," Jordan says gently, "As far as your friends and family know, you died three days ago in hospital."


	2. Chapter 2

THREE DAYS AFTER THE SHOOTING

Kate Beckett's funeral is held on an overcast day, in the same cemetery where her mother is buried, three days after she takes a bullet to the heart. It's a police funeral, but the presence of uniformed officers is not overwhelming; everyone on the homicide floor at the 12th turns up, along with a few friends from robbery and narcotics. Esposito, Ryan, Lanie, Gates, Jim and Alexis carry her coffin; Castle's hands were shaking so badly that his daughter had to step in for him. He can't help but admire her strength. Only months ago she experienced something so traumatic that even Castle still has nightmares about it, yet today she was the one who dragged her father out of bed, made him eat something for the first time in three days, and told him to put his suit on and get into the car.

He remembers how much Kate loved Alexis too and his heart feels like it is tearing apart with grief.

It is Esposito's eulogy that brings him back into the present. The dark-haired man stands tall in front of the crowd, sorrow reflected in his eyes. "Kate was my sister, part of my family," he begins, his voice soft but clear, "and I loved her. She could find hope in the worse things, and in this job, you see the worst things every day." Javier pauses and closes his eyes for a moment before continuing. "She was selfless and kind and strong, and although she has been taken from us too early, we will never forget her. Goodbye for now, Kate," his voice breaks but he doesn't flinch, "you will be missed."

Castle doesn't remember much else until the end, when people are milling around, talking quietly and starting to leave. He feels a tough on his shoulder and turns to see Esposito, and welcomes the bone-crushing hug. Afterwards Castle looks his friend in the eye and says only one sentence, the only thing he will say all day.

"I'm going to take Bracken down."

* * *

ONE WEEK AFTER THE SHOOTING

Beckett thinks she may be going insane.

It's been four days since she woke up and Jordan Shaw told her that the FBI had faked her death as a way to throw the killer off her trail, four days since her friends and family held a funeral for her, four days of pain and being unable to move from the hospital bed. She can tell that this is different from the last time she was shot; this time there is structural damage to her heart, not too major, but enough to give her occasional shooting pains across her chest that leave her gasping for each breath. It will be some time before she'll be able to move without pain, and the healing will take months, but the doctor expects a full recovery.

Appropriate, she thinks, for her to have a broken heart when Castle's heart has been broken too.

She misses him and all of the little things they do for each other; the daily coffee he prepares with such care, the way he smile when she wakes him with a kiss. She hadn't realised just how integrated their lives had become. Perhaps the marriage proposal was the next logical step, Kate thinks ruefully.

She argued with Jordan for what felt like hours, but eventually had to give in. Someone wanted her dead and the odds were that next time they would succeed, or worse, target the people she loves to draw her out. The FBI had been investigating some shadowy dealings that seemed to be linked to a certain Senator Bracken, and when some inconsistencies arose that seemed to link Kate Beckett to Bracken, Jordan Shaw had taken an interest. While Beckett's first shooting had been attributed to old enemies of Roy Montgomery, the second was too much of a coincidence for Shaw. She'd made the call to fake Beckett's death and find out what was happening, with her friend out of harm's way.

Kate could tell that the days between the shooting and her waking up had been tense; the doctors say things like 'cardiac arrest' and 'drug-induced coma'. Jordan hasn't told her anything significant yet, but she knows that soon she will be asked to tell them what she knows about Bracken. She is torn about what to do; Bracken knows about Castle, Ryan and Espo, everyone else that she loves. She may be in protective custody but they aren't, and Kate knows too well that Bracken will not hesitate to order the murder of anyone who stands in his way, or their loved ones.

She spends the next day crying and thinking about her mother. And when Jordan comes, the same determination for justice burning in her eyes that Kate sometimes sees when she looks in the mirror, Kate asks her where she wants to begin. Jordan and her FBI colleagues leave three hours later with a growing case file on Senator William H Bracken and his atrocities, leaving Kate to close her eyes and fall into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

ONE MONTH AFTER THE SHOOTING

It's taken time, and Esposito's help. And a lot of money, but that's not an issue when you're Richard Castle, millionaire. He has found someone willing, with the connections to take on a job as one of Bracken's hired goons. The men that the good Senator pays to do his dirty work. However this time, this man will be reporting back to Castle.

At first he wanted nothing more than to kill the man who took her away from him, but that has been replaced by the determination to take Bracken down the proper way – through the justice system. It's what Kate would have wanted, what she was doing when she saved Bracken from the car bomb. Castle had never quite understood how she could do it; now, he decides to do it the right way for her. So he plans it all out, tries to find a way to gather enough evidence to bury Bracken forever.

He never imagines that Kate could be alive, that she is working with the FBI to destroy Bracken with the same fierce determination that he has, and that she thinks of him as much as he thinks of her. Love and revenge are powerful motivators, and Castle has never felt so motivated in his life.

He knows that William Bracken is going to pay. The dragon will be slaughtered. It's only a matter of time.


End file.
